Phil Mickelson has accomplished a few things in his storied PGA Tour career. He’s won the Masters three times, a PGA Championship, and, finally, in July, he hoisted his first Claret Jug.
Phil Mickelson to prep hard for 2014 U.S. Open, may skip some FedExCup playoffs
Phil Mickelson opens up on ‘Morning Drive’ about what he has to do to win the 2014 U.S. Open
Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE
Capturing that one major title that means so much to the San Diego native, the U.S. Open, has eluded him in devastating fashion six times. If channeling the emotions of his first runner-up finish to Payne Stewart in 1999, cramming for the exam at Pinehurst No. 2 come next June, and trimming his schedule to be rested when it counts has anything to do with it, however, Lefty will finally accomplish the career Grand Slam.
“A lot of great things came from that event, even though it was a heartbreaking loss,” Mickelson, who lost by one stroke to Stewart at Pinehurst but welcomed his first-born child the next day, said during a Friday appearance on Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive” program. “Hopefully I’ll be able to go back there next year and take some of that emotion and apply it to my game, play well, and capture my first U.S. Open.”
Should Mickelson come up short yet again, it certainly won’t be for lack of pre-tourney readiness, a work habit for which the 43-year-old is renowned. Friday, he detailed just what it takes to secure five major championships and the tasks he has planned to triumph at his country’s national tournament.
“A lot of it is not just playing, but it’s kind of studying the course on where the ball wants to go, where it’s going to end up, and then hitting those shots,” Mickelson said about what he would undertake in his two or three visits, incorporating two or three rounds each time, to Pinehurst. “Half the battle is knowing where to go, and where not to go. I don’t want to hit a great shot, or a good shot, to where I think is okay and not have a chance.”
Mickelson’s goal is to enter the competition with the same familiarity for Pinehurst that he has on his own track.
“When you go play your home course and you hit a tee shot, before you even get to your ball you know what shot you have, you know where it ended up on the hole, you know what type of club you’re going to have into the green, and whether or not it’s a hole you can play for birdie, play for par,” he said.
“You know where that ball ended up ... and that’s what I’m trying to get, is develop the same local knowledge as I would on my home course, knowing exactly the ball wants to go,” he added. “All that knowledge that you have on your home course, that’s all I’m trying to do is acquire that for each course where we play a major championship.”
Mickelson also offered further details on how he hoped to retain his stamina for the stretch run of majors in 2014, suggesting that he may pass up some FedExCup playoff contests and World Golf Championships.
“The first half of the season won’t be too different. I’m pretty fresh after a couple of months off, I’m excited to play, I like playing some tournaments on the West Coast, I like playing early, and I’ve played well [in the Masters U.S. Open] in the first half of the year,” Mickelson said. “My performance levels off and goes down a bit as we start to go into the second half of the year.”
Mickelson used to finish his golf season in August. Newer tourneys, like the series of four playoff matches, however, have taken a toll.
“I would stop after the PGA,” he noted. “Now we’ve got four big events in addition to the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup, and now World Golf Championships overseas. Those events, to me, are going to have to take a back seat because I physically just wasn’t able, and mentally wasn’t able to perform at the level I expect.”
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